St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-31
PATTISON'S REPORT.
He Roasts Huntington, Stanford,
Hopkins and Croker.

Hopkins and Croker.
The report of eX-Goy. Pattison, of
Pennsylvania, briefly recites the history
ing to So, 623, SIP to the six railroad COM
panies afterwards reduced in number
by consultations to four which formed
parts of the original scheme of cOmmu-
nicatiOn between five points Oh the Mis-
souri, river and the Pacific ocean. 1t
gives the figures showing the payment
of interest for thirty years by the gov
eminent on these bonds, amounting to
s114,261, 247; the grant of 26,000,000
acres of land to the railroad companies,
on which they have realized S39, 49,,
21371, with lands worth $40, 900, 600 yet
unsold; the receipt by the companies of
aid from other sources, amounting to
s.. O7O, SIT, and the further advantage of
S199, 100, 25O, representing the value of
the use of the governments annual adj
vance of 1851, 410, which it did not re-
quire the companies to repay until the
maturity of the subsidy bonds in 1859.
SAT, 729, 470.54 IN AID.
81 By adding these sums together the
commissioner calculates that the total
aid extended to the six companies was
as follows:
Union Pacific and Kansas
Pacific ............ .S241 ,696, 7SS OF
Central Branch ......... 1888, 173 %
Sioux City and Pacific. ...... 10.04S, 425 50
Central Pacific and Western
racine. Io0.olI.Oo0 OU
Total ........... S447. 729, AIS 81
Instead of receiving money only for
stock the Union Pacific Railroad COM
pany received S400,650 in cash for stock,
and issued $50, 762, 300 of stock. The
Kansas Pacific, ON account of its aided
portion, issued stock to the amount of
81. 49,. 500, for which no cash whatever
was paid, The Central Pacific received
S76O, 600 in cash for stock subscriptions,
and issued stock to the amount of $751;
2S3, 100. The Central branch received
1886, 700 in cash for stock, and issued
s9SO,6OO of stock. Altogether the four
companies named received less than
81, O00, 900 in money for stock, yet their
officers Swore that over S97, 000, 900 of
stock had been actually paid i'm
The stock of the Sioux City & Pacific
was fully paid. But in return for every
$40 paid in, each stakeholder received
$50 soon after the completion OF the
road, either in cash or in negotiable
bonds, in addition to his certificate of
ownership in road that represented so
per cent III cACcSS VI Ills SuUSCIlpllOu.
THEIR MANAGEMENT.
The original purpose of congress as
set forth in the act of July L, 1862, in
granting subsidies for the construction
of the Pacific roads, was to promote the
public interest, and the companies were
made trustees for that purpose; but the
public interest has been subOrdinated
by these companies to the stockholding
interest. Nearly every obligation which
these corporations assumed under the
laws of the United States or as common
carriers has been violated. Their man
agement has been a national disgrace.
In return for these advantages con-
gress enacted that the companies should
bind themselves to have their stock
fully paid in cash; that they should
build first-clasS roads; that they should
carry for the government at fair and
reasonable rates, not exceeding the
amount paid by private parties for the
same kind of service; that they should
operate all the lines of the Pacific syS-
tenn as one connected continuous line,
affording to each of the other roads
equal facilities as to rates, time and
transportation, and to convey tele-
graphic messages upon equal terms for
all persons. They were also required
to make sworn annual reports showing
the amount of stock actually paid in,
and information relating to their finan-
cial operations.
100000 LOST BY THE GOVERNMENT.
In their relations to the government
they resorted to every device their in
genuity could invent in their efforts to
evade the plain requirements of the law.
In transporting troops and supplies for
the government they violated the con-
tract obligation to charge reasonable
rates by charging more than they
charged to private shippers for the same
kind of service, and the oyercharges
upon the government by the Central
and Union Pacific companies since 1880